The Whitelighter and the Mortal
by TVADDiCT11
Summary: Piper is the whitelighter to the Charmed Ones- Prue, Phoebe, and Paige. Meets and instantly falls in love with Leo, a mortal cousin of the Charmed Ones. However, Piper is married to another whitelighter. Can she keep her feelings towards Leo at bay while she fights for her failing marriage?
1. The First Encounter

*Authors note: This story is in Piper's POV. Takes place during the entire 'Charmed' series, starting in season 1. The 'Charmed Ones' are full sisters with the last name of Warren only because I thought "Bennett Witches" sounded too much like the 'Vampire Diaries.' They only have two powers each. Their powers are: Prue-telekinesis, and astral projection; Phoebe-premonition, and empathy; Paige-molecular immobilization, and molecular combustion; Piper and Mark have all the normal powers of a whitelighter.

Ages: Prue-26 years old. Piper- 24 years old. Phoebe-22 years old. Paige-20 years old. Leo-27 years old. Mark-27 years old.

I don't own anything, for entertainment purposes. Enjoy :)

* * *

I walked up to the Manor steps. I was about to meet my new charges. I was extremely nervous-a feeling that I never got before meeting a new charge-because I was about to meet the legendary "Charmed Ones." The Charmed Ones were three sister witches, prophesied to be the most powerful witches to ever exist. These sisters recently came into their powers-when their grandmother passed away, which was two months ago.

I got ready to knock on the stained-glass, wooden door. I paused unsure of how to integrate myself into their lives. I was not allowed to reveal my powers to the sisters, but I needed to be apart of their lives in order to protect them and help them with the demons that were going to be coming through their door. I just hoped that my guise as the 'new neighbor' would help them to befriend me. I took a deep breath and knocked.

I heard footsteps and waited for one of the sisters to open the door. The door opened and the middle one, Phoebe, looked up at me. I smiled and quickly introduced myself.

"Hi, I'm Piper Halliwell and I just moved in across the street. And I thought I would try to meet some of my neighbors." "Oh hi Piper. I'm Phoebe Warren. Nice to meet you." "You have a very lovely home?" "Thanks. Would you like to come in?" "I would love to."

Phoebe stepped aside, allowing me to walk through the door. Phoebe asked if I wanted some coffee. I nodded and she motioned for me to sit down on the couch. Phoebe returned with some coffee and sat in the chair across from me. I heard more footsteps and the other two sisters, Prue and Paige, came in to the room. They looked at me with a confused expression and turned to their sister.

I sensed that their first instinct was that I was some sort of demon and I introduced myself quickly, before any one of them tried to vanquish me. We sat in silence for a few minutes, before Paige finally spoke up asking about my life.

"So why did you move to San Francisco?" "Um, I'm looking for a new start." I replied. The sisters nodded and Prue asked "So what do you do for a living?" "I am a chef. I mean I used to be a chef, but now I'm unemployed since I just moved here. But I am currently looking to find some sort of job." I answered. The sisters looked at me. I sipped my coffee. I wasn't sure what they thought of me, but I think that they ruled out I was some sort of demon.

We continued to try and make conversation for about an hour. They told me that they had lived in the Manor, their whole lives. I already knew all of this but I wanted them to trust me so I nodded along and asked them questions to seem friendly. I looked down at my watch and realized how late it was getting. I stood up and thanked them for the coffee. Phoebe invited me out for lunch tomorrow and I happily accepted. We exchanged phone numbers. I started to head for the door and the sisters followed me out. We said our goodbyes.

When I opened the door to leave, I saw the most gorgeous man standing outside. He had blond, spiky hair and the most wonderful green eyes. He looked at me and smiled. He had the most wonderful smile. Prue came up and saw the way that the two of us were looking at each other and introduced us. "Piper, this is my cousin Leo. Leo this is our new neighbor Piper." "Hi Piper, nice to meet you." He smiled and my heart fluttered. I took a breath to regain my composure "Hi Leo. Nice to meet you too." We stood there for another minute when I heard the all to familiar jingling in my head. Damn Elders. I sighed. "I have to leave, but it was nice meeting all of you," I quickly replied. I stepped out of the house, past Leo who just nodded goodbye while still looking at me. I walked away without looking back so that he wouldn't see me blushing. As soon as I was out of sight I orbed away.


	2. Mark

*Mark is the same Mark from season 1's "Dead Man Dating." Enjoy :)

* * *

I looked at myself in the mirror and splashed water on my face. As soon as I left the meeting with the Elders, I orbed myself into my new house. Whitelighters didn't need houses, but I had convinced the Elders to let me occupy it, at least until the sisters trusted me. They agreed. So I moved into the empty house with my husband Mark, who was a fellow whitelighter. Oh my God. In all the excitement I had forgotten that I was married. I shouldn't be thinking about other men, but there was something about Leo that stirred up emotions inside of me that I haven't felt in a very long time.

Mark is a great guy and all, but lately we've sorta drifted apart. Because of our chargers and all of the rules, we were always fighting. We rarely had sex any more and most of the time when we did it was rushed or interrupted by somebody.

In the beginning we were in love. So in love, that the Elders allowed for us to get married-as long as we didn't ignore our charges. Secretly, we vowed to clip our wings and start a family and grow old together. Since I was technically dead, I wouldn't be able to have children unless I clipped my wings. Both Mark and I wanted children, but we also wanted our careers. We constantly fought about when we were going to clip our wings.

When I got assigned to the Charmed Ones, Both Mark and I knew that I wasn't going to clip my wings any time soon, which caused our relationship to begin to crumble. I don't think that he was resentful of my new assignment, but I think he hates that it has stopped any talk about us starting our family.

I continued to wash my face when I felt strong arms around my waist and soft kisses on my neck. I stood up and turned to face Mark. Even though I knew it was him, I was slightly disappointed when I saw him; I secretly wished he was Leo.

I was losing my mind. I had met Leo for a total of five minutes, but I haven't been able to get him off my mind. I was acting like some love-sick teenager, in love for the first time. I had a great guy, I didn't need any one else. Sure I may have not had the best relationship, but I knew that Mark still loved me and I still loved him. I looked up at my husband, flashed him a smile, and gave him a hug.

"Hey how was your day?" Mark asked as he looked at me, pulling away from our hug. "I met my new charges today. I'm going to lunch with them tomorrow." "Oh, okay." "You sound disappointed." "It's just that I was able to get the day off tomorrow and I wanted to spend it with you. I mean it's been along time since we hung out just the two of us." "I can reschedule. I really want to spend the day with you." "No it's okay. Your charges need to come first remember." I just nodded and I walked over to our bed. Mark followed me and we sat down.

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes. I sat there thinking about my failing marriage and I began to cry. Mark pulled me into his arms and I rested my head on his shoulder. "Piper, what's wrong?" "I'm sad because of us." "What do you mean?" "We're not the same couple any more. We're drifting apart." He sighed "I hoped that you wouldn't realize that." "How could I not? We haven't spent any time together in such a long time. And I can't even remember the last time we went on a date, let alone had sex." "I know. What do we do?" "I'm not sure."

He didn't reply so I looked up at him. He was crying too. I sat up and moved away from him. "Do you still want to be married to me?" "Of course I do Piper. You are the love of my life and I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. Do you still love me?" "Yes. So where do we go from here?" "I think that we need to spend more time together." "I'm canceling my lunch plans for tomorrow. Don't even try to stop me." I stood up and dialed Phoebe's number. We rescheduled for the following day. I sat back down on the bed.

"You're stubborn." Mark said once I was comfortable. I smiled and looked at him. "That's why you love me. Besides you already went through all of the trouble of getting the day off." He smiled and kissed me. "Thank you. I think we'll have fun." "Yes, we will. Do you want to start our date now? I mean tonight? I am very hungry and I could cook us some food and we could rent some movies then cuddle on the couch." "Yes, I would like that. I'll go to the video store now. Don't worry I'll get some romantic comedies because I know that they are your favorite." I smiled at him. "Thanks. I'll make your favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs." He smiled back and kissed me once more before getting up from the bed.

I got up and as soon as I was sure that Mark had orbed away, I went down the stairs to the kitchen and started dinner. I put the water on the stove to boil and walked over to the window in the front of the house. I don't know why I felt the urge to walk over there, but I did. I looked out and, with my luck, saw Leo getting out of his car across the street. He didn't see me but all of the feelings that I had towards him came flooding back. I sighed and quickly turned away from the window and went back to cooking my dinner.

I finished dinner and put Leo in the back of my mind. I orbed upstairs and put on a black, form-fitting dress that I knew would drive Mark crazy. Good thing I had shaved that morning. I threw on some make-up and orbed back down. I heard Mark come in and set the movies on the couch. I set the table and lit a couple of candles. Mark entered the room. "Mmm smells good." Then he looked at me and I mean he _looked_ at me. It was almost like he hadn't looked at me in years. I blushed and quickly sat down to the table. Getting my hint, Mark sat down too.

"Piper, you look stunning. Now I feel under-dressed. I need to go change." "No wait, I overdressed. You look fine. Besides the food will get cold." He agreed and we started to eat. We made small talk during dinner, but there was this awkwardness between us. We finished dinner and I got up to do the dishes. Mark came up behind me and warped his arms around my waist. He pulled me towards him. "You're so beautiful." He whispered in my ear. I continued to finish the dishes as he kissed my neck.

Once the dishes were finished I took his hand and lead him to the couch. I popped in the movie and Mark got a blanket for us to share. He sat down on the couch and I sat next to him before cuddling up against him. We watched the movie in silence, but I remained in his arms the entire time.

The movie ended and he offered to put in the other movie, but I shook my head. I was tired and wanted to go to sleep. He nodded and turned the TV off and followed me up the stairs. We had an agreement that we would always go to bed at the same time when we were at home together.

We got ready for bed in silence. Mark turned off the light and laid down next to me. I kissed him goodnight, but instead of the short kiss we usually shared, Mark held on to me and pulled me into a deeper, more passionate kiss. Knowing where this kiss was going, but not wanting to stop, I kissed him back. He got the hint and got on top of me. In a matter of seconds our clothes were off.

Seven minutes later, Mark rolled off of me, kissed me goodnight, and was asleep within seconds. I looked over at him remembering the times when we would cuddle and stay up talking all night after we had sex. Those were the days when Mark and I were really in love; that was before I got assigned to the Charmed Ones. I sighed. I looked up at the ceiling wondering how my life got to be this way. I stayed up another hour contemplating my life before finally falling asleep.


	3. Lunch

*Here is the next chapter. I will be referencing the canon series as sort of a guide of when the story takes place, but I won't really talk about the episode, unless the demon vanquish involves Piper or the Elders. And the Charmed Ones and possibly Leo, will discover about Piper's identity around the same time that they did in the show. Sorry for not updating sooner. I had no idea where to take this next chapter. Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy :)

* * *

The next day after our date, Mark and I spent the entire day together. We ate breakfast then went to the park for a picnic for lunch. Then we got home and went out for dinner at a nice restaurant. Then later we went out for ice cream. It was a very relaxing day, but I enjoyed every second of it. Mark and I talked a lot about us and our future and we came to the decision that within ten years we were going to clip our wings and focus on our family.

I woke up the next morning earlier than normal. Mark was snoring softly besides me and had one arm draped across my stomach. I picked up his arm, carefully not trying to wake him and got out of bed. I headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Today I was finally going to lunch with Phoebe Warren. As I got ready, suddenly I got nervous. Nervous because I had the chance of running into Leo today. I was going to pick Phoebe up at the Manor, because she didn't have a car and would need a ride to the restaurant.

See most whitelighters do not own any material possessions, but Mark and I weren't most whitelighters. Mark is a half-whitelighter, half-mortal hybrid. His father is a whitelighter and his mother is a very successful lawyer. The two met and fell in love and had Mark. Mark's parents have set up a trust fund for him to use, since he can't really get a job in the mortal world; his charges would always cause him to leave unexpectedly. Once Mark and I got married, they set up a separate trust fund in my name so that neither of us had to worry about money. They also told me that no matter what happens between Mark and myself, the trust fund still belonged to me because they considered me their daughter. With our trust funds, we bought the house that we're living in, along with all of the furniture, and brand new cars (I don't really know the types, I'm not into cars. Plus, Mark picked them out).

After I got dressed, I made myself some coffee and read the newspaper. One story caught my attention. The police where looking for a man who had been luring women to his photo studio. Then the women would leave the studio, but they had aged fifty years. Of course the police were stumped as to how this was happening, but I had known that it was demonic. So did the Elders. I had been told to try to help the Charmed Ones, but I had to wait for a time that the sisters were not going to be in the Manor. I figured that I would wait until after lunch and do my best to assist them.

When it was time for lunch, I wrote Mark a note, since I could hear him taking a shower. I grabbed my keys and walked across the street to the Manor. I knocked on the door and Phoebe answered. She quickly grabbed her purse and called out to Paige that she was leaving. We got in my car and went to Quake. Quake was a restaurant not too far from the Manor and it was the best in town. It was so crowded that the only open spots where at the bar. We agreed to sit there. After ordering our food, we started to make small talk, when suddenly, Phoebe stopped and stared at this man. He noticed her and slowly made his way towards us. "That's Stephan. He's this really famous photographer in New York." She whispered. I just nodded. Stephan approached us and him and Phoebe exchanged some words and he left her his number. I got this bad vibe from him, almost like he was a demon. Phoebe was all excited that she was going to be a model and I warned her to be careful. She agreed then our food came.

Halfway through our meal, Phoebe started asking me some questions about my life. "So Piper, why did you have to cancel the other day? On the phone you just said that something came up and I'm worried about you." "Oh, right. My husband came back early from his business trip and wanted to spend the day with me," I answered. "Oh, you're married? I didn't know that. What kind of business does you're husband do?"

"Um, he's a pro bono lawyer, but he has clients all over the country," I made up. Phoebe examined me and bought my story. "Wow that's awesome. So how did you meet?" "High school sweethearts," I lied. I actually saved him from a darklighter, the only natural enemy of a whitelighter, a couple of years after I became a whitelighter. Phoebe nodded and looked down at her food.

After a few minutes Phoebe looked back at me. "Can I ask you something really random? Please don't get offended or anything." "Um sure I guess." "Do you have feelings for Leo?" "What? No, I mean I only met him for like five minutes and I am married. I can't like Leo. Besides, he's your cousin and I wouldn't want to hurt our friendship or anything."

Phoebe smiled and cut me off. "Piper you were rambling. I'm not here to judge you or anything. I don't know what your home situation is like, but the way that you and Leo looked at each other the other day, I thought that the entire house was going to burn down. I mean it's obvious that you two are attracted to each other." I blushed and Phoebe giggled when she saw my blush. "I was only asking because Leo asked me to ask you if you were single. He hasn't stopped talking about you since the other day." This made me blush more.

"I'll have to tell him that you're married." Phoebe finished. I sighed. "I'll tell him. It should come from me," Phoebe nodded and finished her lunch. I volunteered to tell Leo because I knew that I needed to see him again. I needed to see him just one more time to be reassured that I didn't have feelings for him. As much as it would hurt me, I knew that nothing could ever happen between Leo and myself, at least as long as I was married.

We finished lunch and I drove Phoebe home. Leo wasn't there so I went home. I asked Phoebe to call me when he got there. As soon as I walked into my door. the Elders called me. I orbed up there. Once up there, two hooded figures approached me. "We fear that one of the Charmed Ones might be in danger. The middle one, Phoebe. We fear that she might die at the hands of Javna. We already sent her this premonition, but her sisters are not around to help her." "What do I need to do?" "Find her sisters and convince them that Phoebe is in danger. But don't reveal your powers." "Ok, I'm on it."

I orbed down and sensed Prue. She was working at her office. Paige was out with some guy. So I called Prue on the phone. "Prue Warren." "Hi, Prue. It's Piper Halliwell. Have you spoken to Phoebe recently?" "Weren't you just with her?" "Um yeah, but she said she would call me later, but I haven't heard from her. I called the Manor and her cell, but there was no answer." "Ok, Piper, I'll call Paige and we'll find her don't worry." "Okay, thanks Prue. Have her call me please, when you find her." "Okay, I will. Bye Piper." "Bye Prue. Thanks."

After a couple of hours Phoebe called me and told me that she was safe. I was relieved and then the Elders called me again. I told them that Phoebe was safe and they informed me that Javna had been vanquished. I went home and saw Mark and hugged and kissed him and we made some dinner and went to bed.


	4. The Talk

*Sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. I lost all motivation to continue this story. "Guest" reviewer of chapter 3, this chapter is dedicated to you because you made me want to continue this story again. Anyways here's the next chapter. Please review and enjoy :)

* * *

It had been one week since eating lunch with Phoebe. And I hadn't had the chance to see her again. I got assigned a new charge, a future whitelighter, and she needed my help more than the Charmed Ones at the moment. The Elders feared that she was about to fall down the wrong path, and since I was roughly the same age, they figured that I would be able to "work my magic" and save her. So far, I haven't been able to make much progress in her life, but investing myself with my new charge has given me the opportunity to avoid the Warren Manor.

See, I still had yet to talk to Leo. I don't know why I couldn't bring myself to walk over to him and tell him that I was married. It was almost like some part of me didn't want my chance with Leo to be ruined. But I knew I was going to have to face him sooner or later.

Everyday I would come home after helping my charge, and I would see Leo's truck outside the Manor. I would convince myself to go over and talk to him, but then orb away as soon as I rang the doorbell. I would then watch one of the sisters or Leo answer the door from the comfort of my own living room.

I was such a wreck over a guy that I met for five freaking minutes! I have never felt this way about anyone and I was pretty convinced that I had lost my mind. I had to confront these feelings before things got worse.

After the sixth time of me playing "Ding-Dong Orb" at the Warren Manor, I went over to the Manor, to finally talk to Leo. I couldn't avoid him forever; his cousins were still my charges after all. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Before I got the chance to chicken out and orb away, the door opened. And as my luck would have it, Leo stood before me in the hallway.

I wanted to scream and run away. But I was done playing chicken. I took a deep breath before speaking. "Hi, Leo It's good to see you again." Leo smiled at me. My heart melted a little bit inside. "Hey, nice to see you too. You're Piper, Phoebe's friend right?" "Yeah I'm Piper." I replied, a little hurt that this man plagued my existence since we met, but he didn't even remember my name.

Was Phoebe lying when she told me that Leo had been talking about me since we met? I got so lost in the possibility that my new friend and charge, would deceive me into thinking that there was a chance that Leo actually liked me, that I didn't hear Leo's response. He kept staring at me and finally I realized that he spoke to me. "Wait could you repeat that please?" He chuckled and replied, "I said that Phoebe wasn't home." "Oh. I'll come back later." I said and turned away before Leo started to close the door. "Wait Leo, I actually came over here to talk to you." "You did now?" Leo asked. I nodded and he invited me inside.

"So Piper, what did you want to talk to me about?" "Umm.." I started. I instantly regretted my decision to talk to Leo about my husband; I should have let Phoebe do it. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, hoping that the right words would come to me. I opened my eyes and say Leo staring at me, his deep green eyes piercing into my soul, wich made me realize that I had no way of telling him about Mark. I looked away from him and started twirling my wedding ring around my finger, something that I did when I was at a loss of words.

Leo smiled to himself and cleared his throat, which forced me to look up at him again. I took another deep breath before finally coming clean. "Look Leo, I'm sure that you're a nice guy and everything, but there can never be a thing between us because, well, I'm married." "That's nice Piper, but what makes you think that there would be anything between us? I mean we only met twice and have said like five words to each other." I looked away embarrassed and nervously laughed.

I looked back at Leo. "Well, last week at lunch, Phoebe told me that you hadn't stopped talking about me since we met. And I thought I would clear the air." "Here's the thing. Phoebe likes to play matchmaker with all of her single friends. And since I broke up with my girlfriend a couple of months ago, she has been trying to set me up. I find it incredibly annoying, but that's Phoebe for you; always butting in to other people's business. I mean she means well and all, but still.." Leo explained. At this point I was absolutely horrified that I had just made a fool out of myself. I knew that Leo didn't like me in that way. I stood up and tried to make an excuse to leave, but Leo stopped me.

"Piper, don't go. Or at least, don't feel bad. I mean it's not like I don't like you, it's just that I don't know you well enough to know how I feel about you. So maybe, we can start off as friends?" I looked into his eyes and noted the sincerity held within them. I smiled and nodded before responding, "yeah I would like that." He smiled and I left the Manor.

Even though it was incredibly reckless and stupid to agree to be friends with the man I was sure I had some sort of weird connection with. A man who makes me feel things I have never felt in my entire life, I knew that I needed to keep Leo close to me in my life. That way I could figure out why I had such intense feelings for a man I hardly even knew.


	5. Warning the Sisters

*Here is the next chapter. It is a bit longer than any of the other chapters I have written so far. I forgot to mention that this story takes place in the first two seasons, so I'll be rewriting some of those episodes so that Piper is a whitelighter. So this chapter is roughly based of off season one's "Thank You for not Morphing." Oh and I'll reply at the beginning to any reviews that this story gets starting now. Sorry I haven't done it in the past, but I was very busy (but I did read them all and cherished everyone of them). I don't own anything.

Lisa: First off thanks for the review. To answer some of your points: about Mark, well you'll have to wait and see ;) about Leo... i'll let the next chapter do the talking.

* * *

Three days. That's how long ago Leo basically told me he didn't have feelings for me. Three days. That's how long I've been moping around my house. Three days. And in those three days I couldn't stop thinking about Leo and my stupid feelings for him.

It just wasn't his rejection. It was also that he made me look like a complete idiot. I'm pretty sure that he told his cousins what had happened, so that also means that he embarrassed me in front of my charges. I wanted to run away from everyone. I would just live in some island somewhere by myself. Maybe Mark would join me. I'll clip my wings, then Mark and I can go live on this island by ourselves, never having to worry about being embarrassed ever again. No, I was better than all of this. I would not let Leo get to me anymore.

In order to prove this to myself, I decided that I was going to show him that I didn't need him. And I actually had the perfect opportunity to do so. One of our neighbors was throwing a party tonight. I was going to go and show Leo and his cousins that I didn't like Leo. I got ready and put on my dress that made me look incredibly sexy. I needed Leo to realize all that he was missing.

I looked at the clock, the party was going to start in an hour. As I started doing my hair and makeup, I thought of the one "accessory" that would definitely catch Leo's attention. "Mark. Mark." I called for my husband. I know, it's petty that I called my husband only to make Leo jealous, but I also called him because I thought it would be nice for everyone to meet him and actually believe me when I talked about him.

See, my other neighbors, besides the Warrens, thought that I was lying about Mark. Many people believed that I made up my husband only because he wasn't around very often. And if I wasn't so hell-bent on living down this street, I wouldn't care what other people thought of me. But because the of the Charmed Ones, I was forced to be friendly towards every one of my neighbors that I came across. I didn't want some neighbor to ruin my chances of integrating myself in the sisters' lives just because I wasn't friendly to that neighbor.

After calling for Mark for five minutes, Mark finally orbed into the room. He looked me over and checked the calender behind me to make sure he hadn't inadvertently forgotten our anniversary. I smiled at him and shook my head before speaking. "Hi. So we got invited to this party tonight. That's why I'm dressed like this. Now hurry and get ready, we don't want to be late." "Piper, I have been helping my charge all day. I'm tired. Let's just stay home tonight." "Mark, please I want to go. And I want to go with you. I mean we've lived here almost a month and you haven't even met anyone, like my charges yet." Mark looked at me and sighed. He knew that once I wanted something, there was no way I was changing my mind. "Fine, we'll go." "Thank you." I said giving him a hug. "On the plus side, I'll finally meet the legendary Charmed Ones." I smiled at him and continued to get ready.

An hour later, both Mark and myself were ready to go to the party. We walked hand-in-hand across the street and rang the doorbell. The host of the party, Marshall, opened the door. "Hi. Piper right?" He asked me. Silently I flinched at those words. Leo had said those words. Trying to get Leo out of my head I smiled at Marshall and nodded. "Yes I'm Piper from across the street and this is my husband Mark." The two men shook hands. "Come on in the party is in that room over there. Thanks for coming." He said "Thanks for inviting us," I replied. Mark and I, still holding hands, made our way to the party. Once in the room I saw the Warren sisters and we quickly made our way over to them.

Once they saw us, they stopped talking and looked at us. I felt Mark's hand grasp mine a little tighter. I knew that he was nervous about meeting three of the few "celebrities" in the magical community. As we approached them, Phoebe smiled at me while Paige and Prue nodded. I took a deep breath and walked over to them.

"Hey Phoebe. Hi Prue and Paige. How are you guys? So this is my husband Mark." "Hi Mark, Piper has told us so much about you." Phoebe said grabbing Mark's hand to shake it. "Nice to finally meet you three. Sorry I haven't been around much. I work a lot." "What do you do again?" Paige asked chiming in the conversation. "I'm a pro bono lawyer." Mark replied. I was glad that he remembered the cover story I had told him that I had told Phoebe.

Prue and Paige began talking to Mark about being a lawyer. Mark answered to the best of his knowledge. Good thing that his mother was a lawyer or else he wouldn't have been able to answer any of their questions. I was beginning to zone out of the conversation. I looked around, expecting to find Leo lingering around in the corner. I shook my head and tried to focus in on the conversation.

Prue had asked how we met and I was about to answer her when I saw him behind her. My heart stopped. Phoebe, who was watching me, followed my gaze and tried to stop herself from laughing. I tried to focus on Prue's question but was unable to. Leo was talking to one of the other neighbors, some blond chic named Missy Franklin. There was a small part of me that was jealous of Missy. So much for Leo not plaguing my existence.

Mark, who had answered Prue's question for me paused to look at me. Seeing that I was clearly elsewhere, nudged me gently, snapping back to reality. He asked if I was okay. I nodded and just said I was a little hot. He excused himself and went to find me something to drink. The sisters kept asking if I was okay. Mark came back with a glass of water. As I was drinking, Leo had spotted us and made his way over to our little group.

A part of me wanted to run away from him, but I knew that would be too obvious to everyone. So I took a deep breath and watched him. From the look on his face I could tell he was checking me out. I smiled to myself. Luckily, no one (mainly Mark) noticed the look on my face as Leo approached. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Leo joined our group. After the introductions were made, Leo and Mark started talking about baseball, or some other sport. I started talking to the sisters, who were checking out some of the guys at the party.

A few hours passed at the party, and I found myself having a good time. I met some of the neighbors and I feel that the sisters and I really bonded, which is good because they need to trust me in order to be allowed to know my "secret."

The deejay was playing some really good music and Phoebe and Paige found some guy to dance with. I knew that Mark hated to dance and he rarely did. I mean I had to practically force him at our own wedding. I sighed. I loved to dance. I think that in another life I would have been a professional dancer or at least own some sort of dance studio or club so that I could go dancing whenever I wanted to. I sighed again. Mark shot me an apology glance and I squeezed his hand. An awkward silence then fell in the group.

Prue nudged Leo to ask me to dance. I could tell that he was reluctant because of Mark. It also looked like he had something to say to me. So I decided to ask him. "Uhh, Leo I was wondering if maybe you wanted to dance with me?" "Uh, sure. I mean if it's okay with you Mark." "Knock yourself out. I hate dancing and Piper loves it. It would be good for her." Leo nodded and took my hand and led me to the dance floor. I knew that Mark kept his eyes on us the entire time.

As we danced, Leo tried to make small talk, even though it was hard to hear and we had to keep repeating ourselves. Our conversation went a little like this: "Piper you look beautiful tonight." "Thanks. Mark bought me this dress." "He seems like a good man. I hope he's good to you." "He is." "I have to tell you something."

Before I could answer, a breeze passed through and I shivered. My shiver wasn't the type of shiver that I got from the cold; it was the one I got whenever there was a demon or warlock around. I excused myself from Leo and ran to Mark. I gave him a look that said we needed to talk. I turned to Prue and asked her to say goodnight to everyone for us because I had to leave. I told her I wasn't feeling good. She nodded and gave me an awkward hug goodbye.

Mark and I rushed outside and orbed home. "Okay Piper, what is going on?" "I felt a shiver, and not a "cold" shiver, but a "there's an evil being around" type of shiver." "You got one too? Do you think that they were after the Charmed Ones?" "Aren't they all?" "Go talk to the Elders. Figure out how to warn them." "Okay, I'll be back. I love you." I gave him a quick kiss and orbed up to the Elders.

A group of Elders approached me and I told them what Mark and I felt at the party. They advised me to give the Charmed Ones some sort of warning to alert them of the evil and that they were going to try to send Phoebe a premonition. I asked them how to warn them and they just said that I would know when I went back to Earth. They reminded me to not reveal my identity and I nodded before orbing away.

Since the time difference between Earth and "up there" it was 4 o' clock in the morning when I orbed back into my house. Sometimes the Elders were just so damn confusing. Why couldn't they just ever give me a straight answer? Since I didn't need much sleep at night, I went to find Mark to ask him what to do. After talking to Mark, I realized that the only way I could help the sisters was to figure out what they knew. This would require me to orb into their house and spy on them without getting caught. Since that would risk our friendship, I decided not to do that.

Stumped, I looked at the clock. Somehow it was already eight o' clock in the morning. I peeked out the window and saw Prue and Paige leaving for work. That would have been the perfect time to orb into the Manor, but I just couldn't risk it. I drank a cup of tea. Tea has always helped me relax and think. Mark had to leave to go help a charge.

After my tea, I thought that talking to Prue about last night might actually be in my best interest. She was always very perceptive and maybe she saw something suspicious. The only way to talk to her would to go to her at work. I needed to find something that I wanted to "sell." I went up to the attic and found one of my grandmother's old vases. After dusting it off, I orbed over to the Buckland Auction House, Prue's work. The secretary told me that Prue was in a meeting, but could see me after she was done. I nodded and agreed to wait.

Fifteen minutes after arriving, a man said that he was Victor Bennett (who looked very familiar to me) and he wanted to talk to Prue. The secretary told him the same thing she told me and he also agreed to wait. As he sat down, I racked my brain trying to figure out why he looked so familiar to me. I thought back to all of the many years that I had been on the earth. After about two minutes, I remembered who he was. He was the Charmed Ones' father. The perfect opportunity to warn the sisters fell into my lap.

I approached him. I cleared my thought to get his attention. "Excuse me sir. Is Prue Warren you're daughter." He nodded and before he could call for help, I explained who I was. "This might sound crazy, but I'm Prue's whitelighter. Look her and her sisters are in danger, and I can't reveal my identity to them but I need to warn them. Can you please tell them that a warlock is after them?" He didn't respond. Prue's door began to open and I begged one more time before running towards the elevator and orbing away.

The Elders called for me so I orbed 'up there.' They decided to give me another charge. I accepted. This witch was a very experienced one, so I didn't need to keep my identity a secret. There was a rule that new witches couldn't know about whitelighters until the witches had fully trusted their whitelighters, which was why a cover story was needed with all of my charges.

I orbed over to her and I introduced myself to her. Her previous whitelighter had died (a darklighter killed her) so I comforted her. She nodded and we started talking about her. I had known the fallen whitelighter, so we bonded over her. Then a demon attacked and the two of us went into battle. He was a low level demon, with very little powers. My new charge could shoot ice from her hands (**A/N like Past Prue's power in "Pardon My Past"**).In the end the demon was vanquished and the only injury was a small fireball burn. I healed her (one of my powers was that I could heal witches) and she thanked me. I told her to call me whenever she needed me and I orbed away.

When I got home, I realized that it was already nightfall. The Elders once again called for me and congratulated me about warning the sisters and then informed me of their successful vanquish. I smiled and orbed back home where I went straight to bed.


	6. Waking Up to Lies

*Ok here is the next installment. It's sort of a fluff chapter, but a very important one because it sets up the next one (which will be loosely-as in not at all-based on "Dead Man Dating" Please review and enjoy :)

Side note: Prue and Paige will love Piper and be her friend too, even if right now it seems that Phoebe is the only one that likes Piper. It's harder to write the relationship between the others because the Piper/Phoebe relationship in the show is one of my favorites and is the easiest for me to write. But trust me, all four of them will eventually have that sisterly bond.

Lisa: again thanks for the review :) It really brightened my day. Your question (about Leo knowing the girl's secret) will not be answered any time soon-as soon as Piper knows that answer (I already have the perfect episode in mind for that reveal), then you will know too ;)

* * *

The next morning, I was woken by a loud knocking on my front door. I wasn't expecting anyone, and most people who needed me just called for me instead of knocking at my door. So my guess was that it was Phoebe looking for someone to hang out with (we were both "unemployed" after all). I glanced at the clock. It was 12 o' clock in the afternoon. I had slept for 12 hours. I was surprised that I slept that long or that Mark didn't wake me up (unless he never came home last night). I stood up and threw a robe on (because I was still in my pajamas), threw my messy hair in a bun, and quickly made my way down the stairs.

As I approached the door, I glanced out of my peep hole to see who was knocking. I couldn't see who it was; the person outside of my door covered the peep hole. I almost didn't let the person in, but I was actually kind of curious who would wake me up on my day off. I opened the door and almost went into shock of who was standing there. It was Leo. He looked at me and smiled and I embarrassingly remembered my appearance. I let out a nervous laugh before taking a deep breath and talking to Leo.

"Hi, Leo. What are you doing here? I mean did you need something?" I asked him. "Well, I came over here to talk to you, but if you're busy then I'll come back later" "No. I'm not busy, but give me a couple of minutes to get dressed." He nodded and before I turned away I asked him "Do you want anything to drink? Or are you hungry, because I could whip something up to eat?" He shook his head no "Oh, ok. I'll be right back, please make yourself comfortable." I replied before running upstairs to my room. I threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and quickly combed my hair. Once I was satisfied with the way I looked, I quickly made my down the stairs. Leo was sitting on the couch waiting for my return and looking out the window.

I cleared my throat and Leo looked up at me and smiled. I took another deep breath and sat on the chair across from him. We sat in an awkward silence. After a few minutes, I took another deep breath and broke the silence. "So. Leo what did you want to talk to me about?" "Remember I had something to say to you at the party and then you got sick and left?" He asked me. In all that had happened in the past couple of days I had completely forgotten that he needed to tell me something at that party. That party seemed so long ago. I nodded and he continued.

"Well, um here's the thing. I lied to you. Five days ago, when you came over to the Manor and told me that there could never be anything between us..." He was bringing up that painful day. The day I realized that I was just a crazy person who had feelings for another guy that wasn't my husband, one that I met for five minutes. I wanted to stop him so I wouldn't have to remember all of the hurt and pain that that day caused me. But I couldn't bring myself to stop him so he continued.

"I lied to you when I said I didn't have feelings for you. Of course I do, or at least I feel some weird connection with you, one that I have never felt before in my life. But it hurt so much when you said you were married. So I wanted to hurt you the way that you hurt me and I'm sorry." As he finished he waited for me to respond. I didn't know what to say. Leo liked me back, or at least felt that weird connection between us too. I smiled in my mind. Leo liked me! I was so happy. Then I remembered Mark and started feeling so guilty. I sighed.

"Piper? Is everything okay?" I nodded still unable to speak. Leo looked at me with concern. I smiled at him and tears shone in my eyes. I held them back knowing I could not let Leo see me cry. Leo finally broke the silence that had fallen over us. "Look, Piper I know that you're married and all, but I just want you to know that I'm here for you no matter what. And I don't want anything to change between us. I mean I still want to be your friend." "Leo, this changes everything." I whispered once I finally found my voice. He nodded and stood up and headed for the door. I didn't look at him and I waited for him to leave so that I could orb up to my room and cry over my life.

Once Leo got to the door, he paused and took a deep breath. "Piper, I'm sorry" he whispered to me and left.


	7. Memories to Take the Pain Away

*This one is probably one of my favorites so far because well it's based off of "Dead Man Dating." Okay, it has really nothing to do with that episode, but it is the story of Mark and Piper and their road to romance. Oh I had to make Mark a little bit older so that my story would make more sense. So from now on, Mark is 27. All the italics are flashbacks.

Lisa: I was going to have them kiss, but I couldn't write that scene. It was like something was stopping me (maybe because I have their first kiss planned out in my head). Thanks for your review :)

Georgia: I'm trying my best to make sure that Piper is a believable whitelighter. So thank you for saying that she is. And also thank you for your review :)

* * *

The minute that I knew that I was alone, I orbed upstairs. I jumped into the shower, hoping that the water would help me clear my head. I actually felt worse now that I knew that Leo liked me. I felt more guilty. I also felt more torn. I felt that I wasn't being fair to Mark if Leo was in my life because I would constantly be thinking of him, instead of Mark. And Leo, I was sort of stringing him along by not ending our relationship, because nothing could happen between us while I was still married.

I got out of the shower more confused then when I got in. As I brushed out my hair, I started thinking of all the good times between Mark and I. More specifically, I thought about when we met about ten years ago.

_I was a young whitelighter. I had only been a whitelighter for a few years. I had only one charge, a witch named Wendy, and the Elders felt that I was ready to have another one. A future whitelighter, named Mark. The Elders told me where to find him so I sensed for his location and immediately sensed that he was in danger. _

_I orbed to his location and realized that he was being attacked by two darklighters. I couldn't see the one's face, but the other I recognized almost instantly. He was my ex-boyfriend Dan (more on him later). They shot an arrow at him and before I could do anything to stop it, Mark orbed in place. This stumped both me and the darklighters. We we're expecting a whitelighter-to-be, not someone with whitelighter powers. Mark too, was shocked. I knew that I would have to ask the Elders about him later, but first I had to make sure Mark lived. I grabbed the athame that I always carried and threw it at the unknown darklighter, instantly killing him. My ex-boyfriend turned to my direction, and growled before orbing away. I didn't have time to dwell on him. I had to focus on my charge. _

_I ran over to where he stood. He looked terrified. He also didn't look older than 18 years old. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked him. "Who were those people? What did you do to the one? Why did he vanish?" "I'll answer all of your questions, but first we need to get out of here, before the one comes back." Mark nodded and we ran away. He took me to his house. It was a nice house, very big. _

_His mother saw us approach the house, and instantly started talking to Mark, asking who I was. He told her I was a friend. She angrily started yelling at Mark in Chinese. I stood there awkwardly. After a few minutes, Mark convinced her to let me in. She asked me to stay for dinner, and I kindly accepted. I couldn't remember the last time I had had a home cooked meal. Mark then dragged me to his room. I explained everything to him. He took it surprisingly well._

He kept asking me questions until dinner. But one question will always stand out in my mind.

_"Piper, you are extremely beautiful. Will you go out with me?" "Excuse me? I mean it's forbidden. And how old are you anyways?" "I'm seventeen, but I'll be eighteen next week." "Oh." _

Luckily, his mother called us for dinner. I was still stumped why this boy could orb and I was also surprised that he asked me out. I mean sure I didn't look that old, but I was way older than him. I could have been his mother. Okay, not really, but still. There was an age difference between us. And I was extremely flattered that he would even ask me. I have never been the girl who got that many dates. I was the nerd in high school. And after that, I wanted a career and not a family, so I never went on any dates. Oh how I wish I could go back and have a family. Anyways, too late to change the past.

_After dinner, Mark escorted me out. "Please, Piper think about my offer." I nodded. And told him that if he needed me, all he would have to do was call for me. He nodded and I orbed away. I went "up there" to ask Them about Mark. They were as stumped as I was. And told me to figure out how Mark could orb. I nodded and told them I would tell Them as soon as I knew. _

_It was many weeks before I saw Mark again. I was still so confused about everything, and I didn't want my confusion to interrupt my job. But I needed to figure out why he could orb. So one day, I went to his house. And after hanging out with him all day, I finally had my answer. His father orbed home in front of me. And instead of listening to him try to explain everything I orbed out. I reported my findings to the Elders and went "home." Okay, I didn't have a home, but I lived on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. _

_I stayed on that bridge for many hours. Then of course the Elders called for me. After speaking with Them-They gave me a new charge-I went back to Mark's house, and accepted his date offer, even though I knew I was breaking the rules, but I take pride in breaking the rules. _

So after that day I started dating Mark. A few months later I realized that I loved him and couldn't imagine my life without him. And I knew that he felt the same way. Three months after meeting him, he asked me to marry him.

_"Piper, these last few months have been amazing." Mark said to me during one of our training sessions. The Elders felt that the best course of action was to train Mark as a whitelighter, and once he was ready, he would be assigned charges. We were also secretly dating. "Yeah they have Mark. I'm so glad I was assigned to you." "Me too." He replied before giving me a quick kiss. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself." I blushed. _

_"Piper, there is something that I want to ask you." "What Mark?" "I know that we haven't known each other very long, but would you marry me?" He asked me while getting down on one knee. I looked at him with shock and nodded my head yes. Before he put the ring on my finger, we were forcefully pulled away from the earth. _

The Elders told us we couldn't get married and Mark and I fought it.

_"You have broken the rules, Piper. You know that falling in love with your charges is against the rules." "Please, don't yell at her, this is my fault." "Stay out of this half-breed, we will get to you later. Now your love affair is over. You will not see each other again. If you do, then we will recycle your souls." _

_"Go ahead and recycle our souls, because a life without Mark, is one that I don't want to live." "Careful Piper, we might actually do it." "Or better yet, I'll clip my wings for him. Because there is not way I'm living without him and if you separate us, and erase our memories, we will find a way back together." "What about your destiny as a whitelighter? All the good you're still destined to do? If you clip your wings, then your destiny won't be fulfilled." "If it doesn't include him then I don't want any part of it." "We have a lot to think about." The Elder said and orbed us into separate rooms. _

After a couple of hours they let us get married, as long as our marriage never interfered with our jobs. We agreed and we orbed down, told his parents and got married the next day. I never regretted having a quick wedding ceremony, because in the end, I was married to the man I loved. We spent five years in completely happiness. After those first five years, we started talking about having a baby.

_"Piper, let's clip our wings and have a baby" Mark said to me one day. I was sitting on our bed reading. I looked up at him and smiled. "Do you think we're ready for a baby?" "Well, I'm not getting any younger. I mean I still age." "Yeah, but once I clip my wings, then I'll start aging as well." "So, we will grow old together, like we planned. And have a whole bunch of kids." "I want that so much." "Good, we will go tomorrow and clip them then," "Okay, sure. But tonight, we should practice for our future as much as possible." I said with a wink. _

The next day didn't go as planned. The next day I saved the Charmed Ones. And I got assigned as their whitelighter.

_"Piper, we would like to applaud you for all of you work today. If it wasn't for you, then the Charmed Ones would be dead. And since we lost Sam, the former Charmed Ones whitelighter and your personal mentor, we would like to offer you the position. Now, we know that we don't normally, give a new whitelighter such high profile charges, but you are the best one in the field and you definitely deserved it!" "Thank you so much. This is such an honor. I would gladly accept."_

_The next minute I orbed down home. I think Mark was expecting that I would be wing-less. In all of the excitement, I had forgotten my promise to Mark. I sighed and told him the news. He congratulated me and gave me a hug and kiss. Then he said that we would celebrate so he took me out to dinner. When we got home, we had some celebratory sex and he went to bed. The whole time he didn't speak to me. And when I woke up, he was gone._

I cried that day. It was the first time I ever cried over our relationship. Mark sensed my pain and came home and comforted me.

_"Piper, I'm sorry. I was being a selfish jerk yesterday. This is a huge thing for you and your career. Even though it might put a temporary stop to our baby plans, I think that you deserve this. And I don't want anything to change between us. Promise me that it won't" "I promise." _

I knew that Mark was happy for me, but our relationship changed drastically after that. Our relationship turned into the one that I was currently in. We have been having the same problems five years later.

This fight basically led me to Leo. Leo. He was the one that was making me cry. Not that it was his fault or anything. How could he have know that Mark said the exact same thing to me?! It was the last time I had hope in my marriage.

If only things were different. Then maybe I wouldn't be sitting here on my bed crying my eyes out. Man, I've done a lot of crying recently.

I composed myself and got ready. Today was Mark's birthday and I needed to go and make his favorite birthday meal. I put all thoughts of Leo from my mind, because after spending the afternoon looking back at my memories I remembered something: a life without Mark was one I didn't want to experience. And I also still loved Mark as much as I did when we first met, and I would do everything I could to help him remember that he still loved me too and that our love was still worth fighting for.


	8. Meeting Melinda Warren

*Ok so here is the next chapter. This chapter is based off of "The Witch is Back," which means that this chapter takes place one month after the last one. I know I'm skipping some episodes here, but I am because they don't progress my story further or they don't really work without Piper as one of the sisters. Oh and this chapter has some information about whitelighters, and its not really cannon, but it's just my interpretation. Please review and enjoy :)

Lisa: Thanks for the review. Just to clarify, Piper became the sisters' whitelighter five years before the story takes place, when Phoebe and Paige where still in high school. Don't worry, that will all be explained at a later chapter.

* * *

A whole month had passed since Mark's birthday. And I wish I could say that my relationship with Mark had gotten better. It hasn't. In the past month, I only saw Mark twice. Once on his birthday, and then a week later, telling me that he had been given a special assignment by the Elders and would be gone for two months, coming home around our anniversary. He also told me that he wouldn't be in "calling distance." I nodded and he kissed me goodbye. I cried that night. There went my plan to focus only on my relationship.

Then there was the other problem of this month I had to deal with. Leo. I still couldn't bring myself to talk to him. In fact, I hadn't even seen him since that day, the day when he told me he felt a connection with me too. I really wanted to talk to him, but I felt guilty whenever I was around him. I felt that by being in his presence, that somehow I was cheating on Mark. Call me crazy, but the way that both of us looked at each other, someone could easily mistake that look for something that it wasn't. I also knew now that even though that he wanted to be my friend, there was no way that could ever happen. So I just settled for avoidance.

In the meantime, I have asked the Elders for as many charges as possible, so that I could focus on work and not my marital problems. They gave me three new charges, and with the seven I currently had, that brought my total to ten. Now that may not seem like a huge number, but trust me it kept me plenty busy. I rarely had a moment to myself, which meant that I couldn't dwell on my life.

The only good thing to come out of this whole horrible month was that I was definitely making some headway with the Charmed Ones. And I do mean all of the Charmed Ones. Prue and Paige have started considering me one of their friends, and we often hang out at the mall or eat at a restaurant. It was nice. I had forgotten what having friends was like. The sisters were nice to talk to. They didn't press me about Mark or Leo for that matter. I felt that soon enough, I was going to be able to tell them my big "secret."

One day, the Elders called for me. So I orbed "up there" to talk to them. "Piper, good you're here. Matthew Tate has been released back into this century." "Matthew Tate, wait, that's the warlock that turned Melinda Warren in, isn't it?" "Yes. Now, your concern is not the warlock, the sisters will be able to handle him. But you are needed at the Manor." "Why?" "Well, unless you want to miss out on your only opportunity to meet Melinda Warren. See, the sisters summoned her from the past. She is here to help vanquish Matthew."

Wow, the opportunity to meet the great Melinda Warren. See, she was the first powerful witch of the Warren line. She is the one that predicted the Charmed Ones. Meeting her would be an honor. An honor, that I couldn't pass up on.

I quickly orbed down to the Manor. I knocked on the door. A woman, whom I presumed to be Melinda answered the door. Leo came up behind her. "Of course he's here," I thought to myself. "Oh, hi Piper. This is our long lost cousin Melinda. Melinda, this is our neighbor and good friend Piper Halliwell." "Nice to meet you Piper." She replied after shaking my hand. Leo invited me inside. Leo must know about his cousins being witches, or they told him that she was a long lost cousin of theirs and he actually bought it. I wish I could ask him, or maybe Phoebe, but then that would risk them learning my secret too early, or worse, they would think I was a demon.

"So, um my other cousins are out of the Manor at the moment, but um do you want something to drink?" He asked me. I shook my head. All of a sudden his phone went off and he excused himself to go and answer it.

I turned to Melinda. "It is such an honor to meet you. I mean I know all the stories." She confusedly glanced at me. "I'm sorry. Here I am totally fan-girling out and you must think I am some sort of crazy person." "I'm actually impressed that I have made such an impact on the world." "More like the magical community." She nodded before continuing.

"Are you of any relation to John Halliwell?" "Yes, he was one of my ancestors." "Are you a whitelighter?" "Yes. Actually, I am the whitelighter of Prue, Phoebe, and Paige. But please don't tell them. They're not supposed to know." "I will not tell them." "Thank you." "John was a very good man. I left my daughter Prudence with him after I died, and he became the first whitelighter in the world." I nodded and we sat in silence.

I smiled to myself. I was completely in shock that I was talking to Melinda Warren. It was because of her that whitelighters even came to be. See John was my great-great-great (I don't really know how many greats) grandfather. The powers that be decided that witches needed someone to guide them and then created whitelighters, out of mortals, that were deemed "good" enough to help witches (and later whitelighters-to-be-once the Elders figured out that certain people posses the whitelighter gene in their DNA, which is how the Elders know who they are).

"It's curious to me that my daughter's whitelighter was a Halliwell and now you are the whitelighter to my decedents." Melinda said after a few moments. I nodded. "Halliwells and Warrens have always worked together, if I remember my history correctly." She nodded in approval.

See I feel like I need to clarify somethings. First off, even though people possess the whitelighter gene, it doesn't guarantee that they become whitelighters. That only happens if that person does something good in their life, that they deserve to become a whitelighter after death. And secondly, some people who aren't born with the gene can also become a whitelighter after their death, if they were a good person. The whitelighter gene does however, help the Elders figure out which people to send whitelighters to guide them, especially if that person is starting to head down the wrong path.

Another thing to mention is that us Halliwells are born mortals, but are destined to become whitelighters. Almost everyone in my family was made a whitelighter after they died. In fact my father was the whitelighter of Penny Warren, the Charmed Ones' grandmother, until she died. Her death impacted him so much, the two were very close friends that had known each other their whole lives (they went to school together), that he clipped his wings and I haven't seen or heard from him since her death.

Leo returned to the room. "What did I miss." "Just some girl talk." I said getting up. "It was a pleasure meeting you Melinda. I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but I have some things I have to take care of." "Blessed Be." Melinda said to me. Leo looked at me with confusion. "Phoebe will be home soon." "Have her call me." As I turned to leave I heard Melinda whisper to Leo, "She is a treasure, Leo." and Leo replying "Why are you telling me?" I walked away and smiled.

When it was safe, I orbed inside of my house. I started reading this book. Once I tired of that, I headed downstairs to make some dinner for myself. After eating alone, I decided to watch some T.V. I quickly grew tired of that. Luckily, the Elders informed me that Matthew Tate was vanquished and that Melinda Warren was returned safely. I thanked them and orbed home.

Even though, it was only 9:30 p.m, I decided to go to bed. I was incredibly bored, and I missed my husband. I sighed. before turning off the light and crying myself to sleep.

In the morning, there was a knock on my door. I got up, put on a robe, and headed downstairs. Suddenly, I was hit with a strong sense of deja vu. I ignored it and answered the door. It was Phoebe. Before I got the chance to say anything, she looked at me. "Piper, we need to talk."


	9. Suspected Warlock

*This one's based off of "Wicca Envy." I don't own any of the dialogue from that episode (taken from charmedscriptstv). Thanks to Grace and ChairGGSpobyPLLFan for the review. Please enjoy :)

* * *

"Phoebe? What's the matter?" I asked her. She kept looking around, trying to avoid my gaze. I didn't think about her weird behavior and invited her inside. I went into the kitchen and made her and myself some coffee. When I returned to my living room, Phoebe was sitting on the couch, looking out the window. Of course I was hit with some more deja vu, but again shook it off. I cleared my throat alerting that I was back. She turned to me and took the coffee mug from my hands.

As I sat down on the chair across from her, she took a sip of the coffee and took a deep breath and turned to me. "Piper, can I ask you something, but will you be completely honest?" I momentarily stopped breathing, fearing the worst that somehow she found out my secret and no longer wanted anything to do with me (even though this was a completely irrational fear). I regained my composure and nodded, signaling for her to continue.

"What did you say to Leo? Look I know it's none of my business if you cheat on your husband or whatever, but can you stop stringing Leo around? The past couple of days, he has been moping around the Manor and I know its because of you. My sisters and I warned him about falling for you because you're married, but he didn't take our advice. I mean he's been through a lot over the years, especially when it comes to past girlfriends. He always gets involved with girls he shouldn't..." "Phoebe," I said cutting her off. She turned to me and I sighed. "Nothing is happening between Leo and myself. I mean I told him that we couldn't be friends." "Why? I thought you guys were doing ok as friends?" "It was getting too hard, too complicated. My emotions were getting the better of me. And the way that we look at each other, wasn't making things any easier." "I'm lost. Do you have feelings for him?"

I sighed again. I couldn't admit to my best friend and charge that I had weird feelings for her cousin and that my avoidance was affecting her cousin. She kept staring at me. She was very intuitive and I think she always knew when I was lying. I took a deep breath and looked down on the ground. "Unfortunately, yes. And everything that I try to do to ignore those feelings makes me confused. And then I remember Mark, and I start feeling very guilty. I wish this wasn't so complicated." "Me too, Piper. Me too."

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes. I sipped my coffee and Phoebe stared out the window again. After gathering her thoughts, she turned to me again. "Piper, can I ask you something else?" Before I got the chance to answer, the Elders started calling for me. It sounded really urgent. I turned back to Phoebe. "I would love to sit and answer all of your questions all day, but I jut remembered that Mark is supposed to call me at any minute. And I hate to be rude but..." I trailed off. She nodded and got up. She made her way towards the door, handed me her mug and turned to leave.

Before she left, she turned back to me. "Look, please just talk to Leo ok? I mean he's basically my brother and I don't want to see him so hurt and miserable." "I'll talk to him, I promise. I'll also try and figure out everything. Please stop by later so we can finish our talk ok?" She nodded and left my house. As soon as I knew she was gone I orbed "up there" to talk to the Elders.

"What's going on?" I asked. There was a group of six or seven Elders huddling in the middle of the room I had just orbed into. They didn't hear me, but somehow I knew that this group was the one that called me. I walked towards them and once again asked, "What's going on?" a little louder the second time. The group heard me and turned towards me.

Sandra, one of the Elders and my personal mentor, looked at me. "Piper, you're here. Good. We have just found out that someone is after the Charmed Ones." "Aren't they all?" "Yes, but this one is specifically framing them in the mortal world. I think that this new enemy is going to blackmail them into giving up their powers." "Can they do that?" "There is a spell in the sisters' book of shadows that will relinquish their powers." "What do you want me to do?" "Figure out who is behind this. That way we can come up with a plan to help defeat them before they give up their powers." "Is there a way for the sisters to get their powers back?" "That's what we've been discussing. Now go."

I nodded and orbed out. I orbed straight into the sisters' attic, to get a look at their book. I read through the book three different times. I found the relinquishing spell that the Elders were talking about. I almost ripped it from the book, but I decided against it. Before I could go through the book again, I heard someone approaching. I quickly hid behind this old couch. It was Phoebe. She ran over to a drawer and put something in before leaving. I heard her leave but decided to stay hidden, in case her or her sisters came back. I waited ten minutes and just as I was about to come out, I heard voices approaching. Even though, I should have orbed away, I decided to stay and hear what the girls knew.

I sat behind the old couch in the girl's attic completely hidden from view. I could hear the sisters approaching, but I couldn't see them. I held my breathe so they wouldn't notice I was there. Good thing none of them were part whitelighter, or else they would have sensed my presence.

"Okay where you put the tiara Phoebe?" Prue asked when they reached the attic. "It's in the top drawer. "Someone is obviously setting me up. We should make a list of everyone that we've met in the past few months, any one suspicious that we've encountered." "Prue, that will take forever! Why do you want us to do that?" "Well, Paige, I want to think of all the people that could be a warlock. And obviously they have to know us pretty well; they have to pretty much watch over us all of the time." "Ok I'll go get some paper."

Paige walked over to the small table that was next to the couch I was behind. I held my breath, if Paige saw me, I would be in big trouble. Luckily she didn't glance in my direction and I let out a sigh of relief. Paige then sat down on the couch. Both Phoebe and Prue joined her on the couch.

"So who have we met recently?" Prue asked her sisters. "Um, how about Piper?" What! Paige thought I was a warlock! Now they really had my attention. And why was I the first one on that list! I shook my head. The sisters must have given her a look because Paige started explaining herself. "Look, I have nothing against her, but she's always disappearing whenever we're hanging out. Plus, Mark is gone a lot for someone who is a lawyer." She did have some valid points there.

Phoebe spoke up "Why is it always the people I bring into this house that gets accused of being that?" "Well, for starters, you brought Jeremy into our lives." "First of all Prue, I went on one date with that loser! I thought he was a total creep and dumped him halfway through dinner. I can't help it that he decided to stalk me and follow me to New York and follow me back to San Francisco." "Still brought him here technically." Paige replied.

"Can we just move on?" Prue chimed in. "But why do we have to add Piper? She's my best friend." "Okay she's off the list, for now, but doesn't mean I'm not going to keep my eye on her." Paige conceded. Great now I'll have to be extra careful around her.

"It's got to be someone at the auction house. And if I had to guess, I would start with the one person who said that they were out to destroy me." "Hannah?" "Smart girl, Phoebe." Prue replied. Hannah? Where had I heard that name before? I pondered that as I waited for the sisters to leave the room. Once they were gone, I orbed back up there.

I reported my findings to the Elders. I conveniently left out the part where Paige thought I was a warlock. I did not need a lecture from the Elders about acting suspiciously around the sisters. They advised me to keep watching the sisters from afar. The Elders were still stumped how to undo the relinquishing spell. "What if I heal the book after they say it?" I suggested. I was waiting for the laughter that would surely come with my suggestion. The Elders huddled together to talk about my suggestion. They turned back to me. "That might actually work. I mean sure it's a bit of a long shot. The only problem is that you will have to be in the Manor when they say the spell, unnoticed of course." Sandra replied. "That won't be a problem." I smiled to myself. I would just go back to my perfect hiding spot.

I nodded and orbed out. How did they not know how to reverse this spell? Aren't they supposed to be all knowing? I would definitely ask Sandra that later. But now I had to focus on my plan.

It was already dark when I orbed back down. I landed just outside the attic, in case the sisters were already in there. I pressed my ear against the door and I heard the sisters chanting. As soon as they were done I orbed out of the house and watch them leave. I quickly orbed back in and hoped that this would work. I waited a few minutes and sensed for the girls. They were at Bucklands.

I walked into the attic and stood by the book. I took a deep breath, the future of my charges, of all magic, now rested in my hands. No pressure or anything. I took another deep breath and placed my hands over the book. I felt my magic working through my hands. It was warm and a yellow light came out of them. I looked down and to my surprise the writing returned to the pages. I continued until everything had returned. I flipped through it just to make sure and orbed out.

The Elders summoned me. They once again congratulated me. Sandra approached me. "Piper, you know you have a real knack for this. Keep up the good work, and who knows, maybe some day you'll become an Elder." I smiled and said my goodbyes and orbed back home. I was in shock. My personal mentor said I had what it took to become an Elder. I couldn't believe that. That would be a huge honor.

But then I realized something. If I became an Elder, I wouldn't be able to have children. Elders didn't have families. Guilt rushed over me again. I had already put Mark through so much and if I told him that I was on the fast track to being promoted to Elder, he would leave me for sure. Maybe he should just leave me. Sure I would be devastated, but then at least I wouldn't feel so guilty all of the time. I would be able to focus solely on my career without making empty promises.

I shook those thoughts from my head. I loved Mark. If I didn't, I wouldn't have married him. I started to cry again. I really missed him. I didn't even think I would miss him this much. He still wasn't going to come home for another two months. This has been the longest couple of months of my life. I cried myself to sleep that night.

I woke up in the morning. I looked myself over in the mirror. I looked like a reck. I took a quick shower. I had to orb back into the attic and see if everything was okay still. I orbed to the Manor and once again flipped through the book. Everything seemed to be there still, except the relinquishing spell. The sisters must have torn it out. Good, if they hadn't I surely would have myself. Just as I was about to orb out I heard voices coming up the stairs. Oh great, this again. I was pretty sure Paige was still suspicious of me. I hid behind the couch again.

As the voices came closer, I realized that the voices belonged to Phoebe and Leo. I wondered what they were talking about, especially if they were talking about me. "So Phoebe, did you talk to Piper?" "Yeah I did, which reminds me I should go over there to finish our talk?" "What happened?" "Yesterday I was about to ask her a question, but she rushed me out of the house." "Do you think she's a, what-do-you-call-it, a warlock or a demon?"

"You talk to Paige too much." "It's a valid a question! Besides I'm trying my best to wrap my head around all this magic stuff and now I'm a little suspicious of everyone." "It's ok Leo, we all are. She's not a demon or warlock-at least I hope not. But that's something that you're going to have to ask her. That is if you two ever talk again." "Look, I don't want to pressure her or anything. I mean she is married. I'm just giving her some space to sort everything out." Ahh he was so sweet. I was going to talk to him as soon as I could. I felt so guilty that I was stringing him along.

"Leo, you're a great person. I would just hate for you to get all attached to her, and have her break your heart." "I know that Phoebe, but with her there is just something different. Something I can't really explain." "Leo, you've been down this road before-falling for the married girl. And look how that one turned out." "I know Phoebe, I know. After what Michelle did to me, I promised myself to be more careful with my heart, but you can't control who you love. And I love Piper. I mean I know I barely know her and everything but I can't stop myself from having feelings for her. At night I wish for her and Mark to break up. That he hurts her so much that she comes running into my arms. That she realizes how much I love her. And she admits that she loves me too. I know it's selfish, but it's how I feel."

Leo loved me. Leo really truly loved me. And I think that I love him back. It took all of my strength to not reveal myself and tell him that I loved him. And that the love I feel for him is unlike everything I have ever felt before. I quietly sighed. Why did my life have to be so complicated? I waited for Leo and Phoebe to leave and I orbed to my bedroom. Leo loved me, but the biggest shocker was that I loved him back. I wanted to scream it from every rooftop. More importantly I wanted to tell Leo to his face. That I loved him and I wanted to be with him, no matter what.

As I celebrated the knowledge that I just found out, something hit the sun, temporarily blinding me. I looked down trying to figure out what it was. It was my ring. My wedding ring. Suddenly my left hand felt very heavy. I was a messed up person. I was still married! I needed to find a way to stop forgetting about Mark! I sat on the bed and begin shedding the tears that came whenever I thought about how screwed up I was for loving two guys at the same time.


	10. A Secret Revealed

*Here is the next chapter. It is based of off "Secrets and Guys" Thanks for all of the reviews (all four of them!) Georgia W, EsmeHollyElizabeth, Sammyl 123, and Guest reviewer. They really helped cure my writers' block. It also makes me so happy to know that people actually like this story and take the time to read it. I don't own anything. So once again thank you for your support (and patience) Enjoy :)

* * *

Another month has past since I found out Leo's feelings for me. There was only one more month until Mark came home. I decided that I only had one month to sort out my feelings. In order to do that I've been avoiding the sisters and Leo at all costs, just so I could try to figure out everything. Luckily for me, they didn't need my help with any demons. I still hadn't been able to face _him _or Phoebe for that matter-we never did finish our talk and I know what we will talk about if we ever did.

In order to successfully avoid my best friend and her cousin, I called Phoebe and told her I was really sick and that I was going to live at my in-laws house until I got better. She understood and wished me well. I also told her that when I got better we would finish our talk. She agreed and told me to call her as soon as I was back in town (I told her my in-laws lived in Los Angeles). As soon as we hung up, I started to cry, overwhelmed by my guilt of lying to my friend.

I busied myself with work so that I wouldn't be at my house that often. I had gotten yet another charge, another witch, and he was always under constant attack. I had spent most of the month watching over him.

I liked my new charge. He reminded me a little bit of Prue. I don't really know why, but he did. One day, I'll have to introduce the two of them. I think that they would really hit it off.

Prue and I had finally become friends and I'm pretty confident that she trusts me. Which means that I'm one step closer to telling the sisters about who I really am and we can all work together to defeat as much demons as we can. But, first, I have to get Paige to like me the same way her sisters did. After all, I was pretty confident that she still thought I was a warlock.

I slumped down on my bed. It had been a long day of demon fighting and charge protecting. All I wanted to do was sleep. Of course, I wasn't going to be able to. The Elders called for me at that exact moment. I quickly orbed up there to see what they wanted.

"Oh Piper, good, you're here. We need the Charmed One's help." "What do you need them for?" "There is a young boy, a young witch, who has been kidnapped. I'm sure you know this already?" "Wait, are you talking about Max, one of my charges. I haven't heard anything from him for the past week!" "You haven't been able to sense him?" "Yes, but I didn't think that he was in trouble or anything like that. What should we do?"

"Get the Charmed ones to help you find him and see if he is in fact in any trouble." "What kind of trouble? Like demonic trouble?" "No we think that a mortal took him. But if any thing happens to this boy-he has a great magical future ahead of him and we need to make sure he survives this whole ordeal so that he can fulfill his destiny." "I'll do what I can." "And Piper," "Yes?" "Try your hardest to gain the youngest, Paige's trust. We know of her suspicions. Don't worry, we won't scold you for them, their are not your fault. Now go. And remember to not reveal your identity."

I nodded and orbed away. I had no time to deal with their message about Paige. I still didn't understand why I couldn't tell the sisters the truth or why denying that whitelighters existed was such a big deal to Them. We, whitelighters, and witches, would get so much more accomplished if witches knew of our existence, especially when they were new to the craft. It's one of the many mysteries of this world that I'll never understand I guess.

I paced around my bedroom. The Elders didn't exactly give me any clues how to help Max, involve the Charmed Ones and also protect my secret. I groaned and flopped on to my bed. I closed my eyes and try to figure out how to approach this situation. I thought about all I had been trained to do as a whitelighter and every story I had been told by one of my colleges. I thought about it for an hour when finally I remembered a story that a fellow whitelighter once told me. I could use the sister's spirit board (they definitely had one of those, I mean I did see it in their attic the few times I had been in there).

I sat on the bed and began to meditate. Now, me meditating at this exact moment probably doesn't seem like the best way to solve my problems, but trust me it is. See when I meditate, I really clear my head and I can really focus and harness my powers to their full capacity. I needed all of the power I could tap into because I was going to send the sisters a message-through their spirit board. Before meditating, I sensed to see if the sisters were in the attic (near the spirit board). They were. So I closed my eyes and concentrated on moving the pointer to spell out "Help Max." I hoped that Prue would get my message, because she seemed like the one most likely to figure it out.

As soon as I spelled the message out, I collapsed onto my bed and fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up and remembered every thing that happened. I had to go over to the Manor to make sure that the sisters got my message. I got up took a quick shower and headed to the Manor. I knocked on the door and Prue answered. She was holding the spirit board, which means that she got my message. "Hey your back. Are you feeling better? What was wrong?" "Yeah everything is okay now. I just caught some weird bug. Is that a spirit board?" "Yeah, just taking it to be appraised." "Is Phoebe here? I told her I would let her know when I came back." "She's around here somewhere. 'Phoebe. Piper is here.'" Prue called out.

I smiled and waited for Phoebe to answer. Prue turned to me and said, "Look why don't you come in and sit down on the couch. I'm sure Phoebe will be right down. I would like to stay and chat, but if I don't leave soon, I'm going to be late for work." "I don't want you to be late. Go. If Phoebe isn't available, I'll come back later." Prue nodded and said a quick goodbye before leaving. I turned to follow, when I heard Phoebe coming down the stairs.

"Hey Piper, you're back. How are you feeling?" She said before giving me a quick hug at the door. "Hi Phoebe. I'm better now. Thanks for asking." "Do you want some coffee or something?" "Um sure, why not. I mean I have nothing better to do. Besides we still never finished our talk from over a month ago." "You're right, we never did. But sadly, I have forgotten what we were talking about. Do you want to catch up instead?" "Sure."

We drank our coffee and Phoebe filled me in about her life in the past month. Like her old boyfriend Clay coming back from New York or all of her various jobs that she had. I smiled and nodded along. I prayed that she never brought up Leo or Mark. She never did. We talked for a whole hour. Then she got a call from Prue and we said our goodbyes. I walked out the door and orbed up there to tell them that Prue was working on finding Max. They told me to watch out for them. I nodded and orbed out.

I landed in my room and thought of what else I could do to help Prue and Max. I needed to look in the sister's book to see if there was anything to helped. I sensed for each of my charges-to make sure that they weren't in the Manor. All of them were gone so I quickly orbed over to there house. I flicked through the book, but there was nothing to help me. I was so immersed in my work, that I hadn't noticed that someone had walked in the attic. That person screamed when they saw me and I looked up.

It was Paige. Great, the worst possible person to walk in on me. She was already very suspicious of me. "What are you doing up here? Near the book?" "Paige, please calm down. I can explain everything." "I knew it, I knew you were a warlock." "I'm not a warlock I promise." "Then who are you?"

I paused. I had just been found out. I had two options. I could lie and protect my identity or I could tell the truth and risk losing my friends. I took a deep breath to calm myself. I decided to do what was right. "I'm a whitelighter."

Paige looked at me with confusion. "You're a what?" "I'm a whitelighter. It's kind of like a guardian angel, but for witches. I was sent here to help you and your sisters whenever possible. You weren't supposed to find out about my secret, at least not for a while." "Who sent you?" "They are this special group of whitelighters known as The Elders. It's all in your book if you don't believe me."

Paige stared at me. I waited for her to respond. She took a deep breath before responding. "My sisters are totally going to freak out when they find out." "No, you can't tell them Paige. Not yet anyways." "How am I supposed to keep this a secret from them? Does Mark know?" "Of course Mark knows. He's one too. Actually that's why he's gone all of the time. He has a lot of charges out of state." She nodded and paused before continuing. "I have so many questions for you." "I bet you do, but I think we should focus on why I am here. I was sent here to help lead you guys to Max." "You sent the spirit board message." "I did. Max is a witch that is new to the craft and I think he has been kidnapped." "Prue was going to the police station to find out all that she can about him."

"Ok good. Well, I better be going then. Please don't tell your sisters about me or my secret." "Piper, I really don't know how well I'm going to keep this a secret. See, I've kinda been ranting to all of my sisters and Leo that you're a warlock. If I stop that then that will make them suspicious." "Why did you think I was a warlock." "I don't know. I guess I've been a little on edge ever since we've started being the Charmed Ones."

"That's understandable. Demon fighting can be very stressful at times. But I'm always going to be here for you if you want to talk about all this-I mean without your sisters of course. In fact, I can also help you out if you have a problem that you don't think you can solve." "Thanks Piper. That means a lot. Especially because my sisters sometimes are a little overprotective when it comes to the demon fighting. I mean since I'm the youngest and only have the power to freeze and everything." "I'm sure they only mean well." "Yeah but they never let me go to the vanquishes unless its absolutely necessary. They normally stick me on book duty."

I smiled. It was nice to be this friendly and open with Paige. I felt that this was the start of a beautiful friendship. "You're a powerful witch too Paige, don't ever forget that. And one day, your sisters will trust that you can handle demons on your own. I mean this is all a new experience for everyone. It takes some time to adjust." "You're right. Thanks Piper. You're really good at giving advice." "It's all part of the job description. Now I better go." She nodded and I left (out the front door).

I had just left the Warren Manor when They called for me again. They asked me about the Max situation. I told them what I knew and They seemed pleased. I prayed that they hadn't heard my little chat with Paige. They didn't. Then they offered me a special job. I was going to leave in six weeks and be gone for two months if I accepted this job. I told Them that I would be honored. They nodded and I orbed away.

What had I just agreed to? Mark was coming home in a month and now we would only have two weeks together before I had to leave. I sighed. I couldn't worry about my marriage at that moment because I noticed that both Prue and Max seemed distressed (I could sense my charges emotions, especially if they were very strong ones). I started to panic, but a woman's voice filled the room. I turned and there was a ghost staring at me. "Hi, I'm Paulette. Max is my son." "Hi. Nice to meet you. How can I help you?" "My husband has just been shot by my son's kidnappers." "I'll heal him." "Wait, before you go. Can you give him a message? Can you tell him to head Prue's warning?" "I nodded and orbed to where the man was. I healed him and relayed his late wife's message to him. Then I orbed away.

I went home and slept. I woke up after only a few hours of sleep because of the fact that I had so much on my mind. This special assignment really couldn't have come at a worse time.

There was one thing that I needed to do before I left. I needed to tell the sisters and Leo that I was leaving in a few weeks. I was just going to tell them that I was going on vacation with Mark, to celebrate our anniversary. I got ready and headed over to the Manor. I knocked on the door, and Paige answered. She told that she didn't tell her sisters anything about her. I thanked her and she ushered me in the door. Before Paige could ask me anything, Prue and Phoebe came tumbling down the stairs. I smiled up at them before stating why I had come over. "Hey everyone, good you're here. I just wanted to tell you that in a few weeks time, I'm going to be going on vacation-like a second honeymoon with Mark." "Oh, Piper thanks for telling us. Hope you have fun." Phoebe said to me. I smiled at her.

"Do you have any plans for today? I feel like a mall day." Paige I asked me. "I don't have any that I can think of. I'm in." I replied. Prue and Phoebe, both clearly taken aback by Paige's sudden change of attitude towards me also agreed to come.

Before anyone else had the chance to say something else, Leo came through the door. My heart stopped. All three sisters shared a look before sharing a look with Leo. Then Phoebe calmly said, "Why don't we go to the mall later." The other two agreed and the three of them not so subtly left the room. I turned to Leo. "Hi. I think it's time that we talk." He said.


	11. Always on My Mind

*The next chapter (finally). Sorry for the long wait, I've been busy these last couple of weeks. This chapter is kinda short. And It's actually not based off of any season 1 episode (actually the next episode that I'm doing is 'Love Hurts,' and that one is still a couple of chapters away). I don't own anything, enjoy :)

Reviews:

KLR: I'm glad you like this story. Actually, my inspiration for this entire story came about when I re-watched Season 5's 'Siren's Song' so I do use Charmed to help get me inspired.

georgia w: thank you

EsmeHollyElizabeth: I'm glad you liked it.

sherrelle: Sorry for the cliffhanger. I really like using them. (Spoiler, there is another one to end this chapter.)

* * *

I looked up at Leo. His pleading eyes convinced me that there was no way I was leaving the manor without talking to him first. His body also stood in front of the door, stopping me from leaving (I mean I could always orb away, but that would cause way more problems than solutions). I sighed. There was no getting out of this. It was time to face my feelings. I nodded and he lead me to the other room and we sat down across from each other. I waited for him to speak first-that way I could think about what I wanted to say.

He cleared his throat. I looked at him and our eyes met. I was memorized and I forgot everything I had just figured out in my head. I didn't dare look away; he had a strong hold over me. I also had the strong desire to stand up and kiss him and by the look on his face he was thinking the same thing. I held every urge down while also holding back my tears. The tears that came with my realization that the man of my dreams was sitting across from me and yet I couldn't be with him, only because I was married to someone else. Why was life so unfair? Why hadn't I met Leo first? Did I just refer to him as the man of my dreams? What was wrong with me?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we broke eye contact. I think that we both blushed a little. I sighed again. I decided that the quicker that we had this talk, the quicker I could leave and so I began. "Leo, um, how's it going?" "Um, it's okay I guess. Look, Piper, we could um, skip the pleasantries if you want." "Um. ok. So what did you want to talk about?" "Um. This is incredibly awkward because you're married and everything but, um, do you think of me? I mean do I ever cross you're mind? Because ever since we met, I can't seem to get you off of mine."

He looked at me as he finished. I sighed again. Of course I kept thinking of him nonstop. That was why I kept avoiding him so much. He basically plagued my existence, which makes my answer to his question that much harder. Because after reading his facial expressions, (and also from what I overheard), Leo clearly liked me a whole lot more than just as a friend. And even though, I was pretty confident that I liked him the same way, I was being unfair to the man that I promised to spend the rest of my life with.

Now would be the perfect time to let Leo move on from me. He needed to stop loving me and find someone who could love him fully without any strings attached. But I wasn't that good of a person. Instead the words that came out of my life were something much worse, then letting him go. Instead I quietly whispered, "Yes."

He nodded, got up, approached me, and knelt in front of me so that our faces were right next to each other. He grabbed my face into his hands and forced me to look him directly in those piercing green eyes of his. Before I could stop what was about to happen his lips brushed across mine in a soft, sweet, but passionate kiss. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. Our lips danced together in perfect harmony. Then I came back to my senses and pulled away before the kiss could go any further.

"Leo. I'm sorry. I can't. I'm going to leave now." "Piper, wait. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I still want to talk to you." "About what Leo? Sure I think about you non-stop and have these strong feelings for you, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm married. And I can't do this because it's not fair to my husband, whom I still love." "Piper, look I don't really know you're husband all that well, but from what I can see, he doesn't treat you very well. He's never home. He pressures you into having a baby when clearly you're not ready. You deserve better than that."

I was going to kill Phoebe for telling him all about me and Mark. She was the only one that knew about Mark wanting a baby even though I wasn't ready. I sighed again. I looked back into his eyes and gathered my thoughts before I responded, "Leo, please stop. I can't deal with this, not right now. You don't know anything about my marriage. Mark is really a nice guy who treats me well. I've known him a lot longer than you have. Please leave him out of this."

"Piper." "Please don't 'Piper' me. I have to go now." "Wait, before you go. Can you answer just one question. Do you ever think that we will ever have a chance?" "I don't know Leo." "Do you want something to happen?" "I don't know." "Okay. That's all I wanted to talk about." "Leo, I need to explain something. I've never been the person who cheats on her significant other, and I don't want to start now." "That kiss said something different." "I know. It's just.. Everything is just so confusing to me I just need some time. Which is convenient because I'm going away soon. Please just give me time. I promise I'll figure out everything by the time I come back." He nodded and gave me a quick kiss on my forehead. "I'll always fight for you. I promise you that."

I nodded and I left. As soon as I stepped out of the manor, I orbed straight into my room. I sat on my bed and started to cry. I couldn't believe that Leo just kissed me. I especially couldn't believe that I kissed him back. I also hated that I didn't just say no to his last question. Why did I have to keep stringing Leo along? Why was I so selfish? More importantly why was everything so confusing in my head? Why did I have to have so many feelings towards everything?

I quickly dried my tears because the Elders started calling for me. I orbed up there. Sandra approached me. "Hey Piper, are you okay, you look like you were crying." "I'm fine, really I think it's just my allergies." "Piper, whitelighters don't have allergies." "Well, then there is something in my eye then." "I'm here if you need to talk." "I'm okay really. You called for me." "Yes, we were wondering if you could go on your special assignment in a couple weeks." "Sure, how soon."

"We want you to leave in four weeks time, the day after your anniversary." "Yeah I guess. I mean that's so soon. And I'm not going to see Mark." "I know, but this is a very important mission that needs to be taken care of right away. The future may or may not depend on this." "Fine, I'll do it." "Good. We'll contact you if we need you. And also I'm still here if you need me." "Thanks." "You should go back now." I nodded and orbed away.

I was glad that I wasn't really needed for anything. I just wanted to be at home. There I could take a long hot bath, drink some wine, watch some t.v. or read a book and cry myself to sleep. I was going to not focus on neither Mark or Leo. I was just going to focus on my own mental health.

Once I returned, I was in for the biggest shocks of my life. I orbed down and there was soft, romantic music, candles, and roses all around the house. I confusedly looked around, and wondered who was in my house. Then I heard a creak coming from the stairs. I turned around and there was my husband walking down the stairs, in a tux, with a single white rose in his hand. He smiled at me and I gasped in shock.

"Mark is that you? What are you doing here?" Instead of answering Mark approached me tucked a stray hair behind my ear. "I'm here for you. For us." And he leaned down to kiss me.


	12. The First Night Back

*Thanks for the reviews. They all made my day :) SO I have an idea for a chapter and I was wondering if you guys would like this. My idea is that one chapter will be written in some other character (or maybe characters) point of view. Let me know what you guys think. I only own the plot, nothing else. Please enjoy :)

* * *

I turned my head quickly so that Mark only kissed my cheek. I still had the taste of Leo's lips against my own and I didn't want to ever forget it and also I didn't want Mark to taste it either. I know it was stupid to think this way, but I was pretty confident that was going to be the last kiss Leo and I shared and I needed to savour it. Mark looked confusedly at me and I smiled apologetically. I told him that I had a headache. He nodded and pulled me in for a hug. I sighed and pulled away quicker than I probably should have.

I turned to walk away. I went over to the couch and sat down. Mark followed me and sat next to me. We didn't say anything for a few minutes and I knew that Mark was questioning my behavior. I sighed again and Mark finally spoke up. "Piper, is everything okay?" "Yeah, it's just been a long day." "Oh, do you want to talk about it?" "No, I would much rather talk about you. How did the mission go?" "It was good. We were successful. I would tell you more, but that's against the rules." "I know." We smiled at each other and Mark repositioned us so that I was sitting on his lap and looking into his eyes. I didn't pull away, but I was certain that Mark was going to try to kiss me again. I just smiled at him.

"Piper, I missed you so much. I thought about you every day." "I missed you too. Mark, why did you come back early?" "We finished early. Plus I heard that you were going on your own mission and that we were only going to get a couple of days together and that you were going to miss our anniversary, so I asked to go home. The Elders agreed and I orbed straight here." "Ahh, okay. So why did you do all of this then?" "To say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I've been acting towards you for the last five years. I shouldn't keep pressuring you to have a baby. I mean I'm asking you to give up a lot and it's not fair to you unless it's something you really want."

I was shocked. I laughed and stared at him. "Who are you and what have you done with my husband?" I asked in reply. I knew how much Mark really wanted to have a baby. Why the sudden change? He smiled at me and began running his hands through my long brown hair. "Let's just say that I was reminded of a lot of things during this mission. Like I remembered the couple we used to be and why we we're no longer that couple. That my stupidity is keeping us from happiness." "Mark it's not all your fault.." "No Piper, let me finish please. I realized that I shouldn't keep pushing for something you don't want right now. I mean I'm relatively young still and you won't age until you clip your wings permanently, so we have all the time in the world to worry about kids and our future. We should be living in the now. We should be enjoying each other's company instead of that constant bickering that we do. I want for us to start over, well not completely, but enough so that we can gain back everything that we've lost these last few years."

"Mark, I don't know what to say. I mean, it's going to be hard. Neither of us are going to be able to forget the past." "I know that Piper, I just want for us to take a chance on our marriage. Because if we don't, then why even be married?" Mark had a point. If neither of us fought for our love, then we should just give up and move on with our lives. But the problem was, did I even want to be married to him any more? Did I still love him? Of course I still loved him, but did I love Leo more? Mark stared at me waiting for my response. I sighed again and stood up. He stood up too. "Piper, why are you acting so weird tonight? Aren't you happy? You're getting everything that you wanted."

Except that wasn't true. I wanted Leo. But I wanted Mark too. "I am happy. And I'm willing to try again. It's just all so complicated I guess." That last part wasn't meant to be spoken out loud. His faced dropped. "Why is it complicated? Are you in love with someone else. Do you not want me? Because we could end this right here." "No, Mark I didn't mean to say that. I meant, I don't know how to move past everything that has happened. Because I know deep down you still want kids and I am not sure I do." I replied, trying to turn this conversation away from me being in love with someone else. Because if we kept talking about that, Mark would become suspicious and figure it out and we would fight. And I definitely didn't want to fight tonight.

"Piper, why didn't you tell me that you don't want kids?" "Because you want them. And all I wanted was to make you happy. So I agreed to having them, even though I wasn't sure of my feelings towards that matter. And as time went by, it became harder and harder to turn you down." "Piper, having kids would be nice and everything, but I don't need to have them in my life. Especially, if that meant losing you or you secretly resenting me because you missed being a whitelighter or something." "Are you saying that you could go your whole life without them?" "Yes. As long as I spent the rest of my life with you."

I was already crying at this point. I couldn't believe Mark was willing to sacrifice having children just to make me happy. In that moment, I was reminded why I loved him. I walked over to him and kissed him hard and passionately. It was a little more passionate than any of the kisses we've shared in a while. I think I took him by surprise. All the thoughts of Leo left my head and for once I wasn't conflicted. I thought that we could get through this. I realized that maybe I didn't actually love Leo. That I only liked him because he was there and he gave me attention when Mark didn't. But now that I had Mark back, I wouldn't like Leo any more.

As Mark and I parted, I looked up at him, except it wasn't him. It was Leo. I blinked and Mark was smiling down at me. There goes my theory of me not loving Leo. Mark brushed away my still streaming down tears. I smiled at him and wiped away the rest of my tears. "Piper are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm just a little overwhelmed I guess." "I'm going to go get you a glass of water." I nodded and Mark left. I went to sit on the couch and tried to stop thinking about Leo. I was falling miserably. Mark returned and handed me the water. He sat back down next to me and stroked my hair. I leaned onto him and he wrapped his free arm around my waist. We cuddled on the couch for a few moments.

I was able to get my emotions in check. Mark looked at me. "Are you okay?" "Yes. I'm sorry." "It's okay. In all honesty, I missed comforting you when your emotions run high." I smiled at him and repositioned myself so that I was facing him. We continued to cuddle. Finally, I looked up at him. "Mark, instead of having children, why don't we just adopt?" He looked at me confusedly. "What?" "I mean do our children have to be biological?" "No, I guess they don't. But wouldn't it be hard to raise a mortal child as whitelighters? I mean you and I could always be gone and we have to orb out at all hours." "I thought about that. Maybe we could adopt an orphaned witch, or another type of magical being, or even a future whitelighter." "Hmm, that's a possibility. Why don't we discuss this over dinner?" "What do you have in mind?"

"Your favorite restaurant in the world." "The one in New York? The one that's extremely impossible to get reservations?" "That's the one." "But how?" "Let's just say your resourceful husband knows the owner of that restaurant and got us a table. But we have to leave soon." "Okay. Let's go." "Oh and then after, how about we make a pit stop in Paris?" "Paris, France?" "Yep." "Yes. I've always wanted to go. But why?" "I know. I think you and I need some alone time and what better place to have sed alone time in the most romantic city in the world." "Yes. Let's go. I'll go pack." "It's already been taken care of." "Wow, you're amazing. What if I had said no." "Then I would have had to awkwardly unpack our bags and have to retrieve everything from the hotel." "Oh, right. Okay, then let's go. Lead the way." He smiled and hugged me and we orbed away.


End file.
